Sources told various news outlets today that Microsoft will cut 1,900 positions from its video game workforce, as the tech sector layoffs pile up mere weeks into 2024.

Three months after the acquisition of Activision Blizzard and King, Microsoft Gaming is facing its first major post-merger hurdle: a workforce reduction of 1,900 employees, roughly 10% of its combined 22,000-strong team.

According to reports from The Verge, Microsoft will primarily be laying off Activision Blizzard employees, but some Xbox and ZeniMax employees will be affected too.

A “Painful” Decision for Gaming CEO
Microsoft is the most valuable company in the world, recently surpassing Apple with a valuation over $3 trillion – the only two companies to have currently ever surpassed that figure. In spite of this positive economic outlook for the Redmond-based company, it hasn't managed to avoid the tech sector job cuts which have affected so many companies over the last 12 months. In fact, its last major round of layoffs was almost exactly a year ago when it let go of 10,000 employees.

In the internal memo viewed by IGN and the Verge, Microsoft Gaming CEO, Phil Spencer cited the recent acquisition of Activision Blizzard (owner of Call of Duty, Diablo, Overwatch, World of Warcraft and Starcraft) not to mention King, who operates Candy Crush, as what spurred the restructuring of staff.

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